Rotary engine.



No. 788,179. PATENTED APR. 25, 1905.

W. W. WHEELER.

ROTARY ENGINE.- APPLICATION FILED FBB.21, 1905.

s SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 788,179. PATENTED APR. 25, 1905. W. W. WHEELER. ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wot/75 5535 66 I ay Wa PATENTED APR. 25, 1905.

'W. W. WHRRLRR.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.21, 1905.

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UNITED STATES Patented April 25, 1905.

IVILLIAM WV. WHEELER, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,179, dated April25, 1905.

Application filed February 21, 1905. Serial No. 246,687.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM W. WHEELER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RotaryEngines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in rotary engines; and the mainobjects of my improvements are convenience and efficiency in operation,particularly with reference to controlling the steam, packing the end ofthe piston, and smoothness of running.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a rear elevation of my engine.Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the cylinder on the line r w ofFig. 5. Fig. 3 is acentral vertical and longitudinal section of theengine with parts in elevation. Fig. 4 is a detached reverse plan viewof the governor-slide,together with a diagram of the orifice through thevalve that coacts with the said slide. Fig. 5 is a transverse verticalsection of the engine on the line y y of Figs. 1 and 3, with some of theparts in elevation. The piston and its wings are shown in end view. Fig.6 is a detached elevation, on a reduced scale, illustrating thearrangement of the steam-supply pipes.

A designates the piston chamber or cylinder, the interior of which is ofa cylindrical form, the said cylinder being closed at its ends by theheads 7 and 8. The valve-chamber B surmounts the cylinder A and isclosed at its ends by the heads 9 and 10. As shown, the engine is of theclass disclosed in Patent No. 43,744 of August 2, 1864, the cylinderbeing provided with a round and longitudinally-slotted piston 11,mounted on the shaft 12 in the cylinder-head 7 eccentrically to thecylindrical interior of the piston-chamber A. The said shaft extendsonly part way through the said piston-chamber, and in the oppositecylinder-head 8 there is fixed another shaft or stud 13 concentric withthe piston-chamber, upon which shaft the two wings 14 are mounted. Thesaid wings may be packed in any ordinary manner as, for example, byspringpressed swinging strips 15 at the sides and plain spring-pressedstrips 16 at their edges.

The shaft 12 extends outwardly through the frame or support 17 and isprovided with a gear-wheel 18 and driving-wheel 19. A valve-shaft 20 isalso supported at one end in the said frame 17, while its other endpasses through and is supported by the head 9 of the valve-chamber B.This valve-shaft has a gear-wheel 21 like the wheel 18, so that thevalve-shaft 20 and piston-shaft 12 both r0- tate together. Within thevalve-chamber B is a cylindrical valve 22, mounted on the valve-shaft20, so as to rotate therewith. This valve has a transverse orifice 23extending diametrically through it, the said orifice being preferably ofa rectangular form diagonally arranged with reference to the length ofthe valve or some equivalent form that will make the ends of the orificeof less width than the middle. The end of the valve which is oppositethe valve-shaft 20 is provided with a governor-shaft 24 in alinementwith the 'shaft 20 and passing through the head 10, so

that the shafts 20 and 24 as connected by the valve 22 act substantiallythe same as one continuous shaft. On the governor-shaft 24 is anordinary governor 25, having agrooved and sliding collar 26, which ismoved longitudinally on the shaft as the governor changes its positionunder varying speeds. In the lower part of the valve-chamber there is agovernor-slide 27 moving in suitable guides in the longitudinaldirection of the valveshaft and having an orifice 28 through it of thesame form as the orifice 23 through the valve and which may registertherewith. This governor-slide 27 lies between the partition-wall of thepiston and valve, chambers, within which wall the port 29, leading fromthe valve-chamber to the piston-chamber, is formed. After thegovernor-slide 27 has been fitted to the valve-chamber the lower part ofthe said chamber, together with the upper face of the said slide, isbored or turned out to fit the periphery of the valve. The upper part ofthe valve-chamber is preferably enlarged, so as to form a steam-space 32for reducing friction. The said governor-slide is provided with a stem30, that extends through the head 10 of the valve-chamber, the outer endof which stem is connected by a suitable strap 31 to the sliding collarof the governor, whereby the said governor-slide is moved longitudinallyin one direction (toward the right, as shown in Fig. 3) when the speedincreases, so as to expand the arms of the governor, and in the oppositedirection when the speed decreases, all in the wellknown manner ofmoving a regulating device by a governor.

Steam is admitted to the valve-chamber in any proper manner-as, forexample, through the pipe 33. For the purpose of starting the engine incase it should happen to stop with the valve in a closed position andfor the further purpose of giving a continuous supply of steam for extraoccasions, if desired, I arrange'a secondary supply-pipe 34, which maybe called a by-pass, as the steam supplied therefrom passes by insteadof through the valve-chamber. This by-pass or secondary supply-pipe 34taps the main steam-pipe 33 at a point back of the cut-ofi 35, as shownin Fig. 6, and is provided with a globe or cutoff valve 36. I prefer tohave the pipe 34 deliver its steam into the port 29, so that the steamwill enter the piston-chamber through the same port by which it enterswhen passing through the valve.

At one end of the cylinder or piston-chamber is the packing-disk 37,having any ordinary packing-ring 38 at its edge. The stud 13 on whichthe wings 14 are pivoted passes centrally through this disk; but insteadof mounting the said stud directly in the head 8 I mount it in the hub39 of the adjusting-disk 40, which hub 39 is exteriorly threaded andscrewed into the interiorly-tlneaded hub of the head 8. On the outer endof this hub 39 I mount the hand-wheel 41, and on the middle portion isthe set-nut 42 for screwing up against the hub of the head 8 to securethe hub 39 and adjusting-disk 40 against accidental displacement. Thestud 13 is shouldered at its junction with the disk 40, and its outerend is provided with a nut 43, whereby the said stud is rigidly mountedin the hub 39 of the said disk 40. In order to prevent the packing-disk37 from rotating with the piston or with the adjustingdisk 40, I employthe dowel-pins 44. The cylinder or piston-chamber is provided with asuitable exhaust 45.

The cylinder or piston-chamber is provided with a longitudinalspring-pressed packingstrip 46 on that side of the chamber with whichthe piston most nearly comes in contact; but instead of arranging thisparallel to the wings and piston I set it at a slight angle ofinclination thereto, as best shown in Fig. 2. The groove for this stripis first formed and the strip fitted thereto, after which the cylinder,together with the face of this strip, is turned outso that the face ofthe strip corresponds to the rest of the wall of the piston-chamber.

By admitting steam into the valve-chamber when the parts are in theposition shown in Fig. 5 the engine will be set in motion and the pistonand valve rotate together. As soon as the valve rotates so far as totake its orifice out of register with the orifice through thegovernor-slide, the steam is cut off and the engine is run by theexpansive force of the steam until the valve at approximately ahalf-revolution opens the valve-orifice again. As the wings l4 reach thepacking-strip 46 only their ends first come into engagement therewith,whereby all shock is avoided and the engine runs smoothly over thisstrip. As the speed of the engine increases above the desired orintended rate the governor expands and moves the governor-slide towardthe right as viewed in Fig. 2. This brings the orifices in the slide andvalve into a position where the slide partially or wholly covers theorifice in the valve. In Fig. 4 the slide is represented in a positionto partially close the valve-orifice. This not only reduces the area ofthe effective steam-supply, but varies the time of supply and cut-01f byreason of the effective orifice growing narrower in the direction of themovement of the valve as the said orifice grows smaller, andconsequently the steam is cut off at a relatively earlier point in therotation of the valve than would be the case if the effective orificewere wider. As the engine slows up the governor will move the slide inthe opposite direction to increase the supply of steam and alsoincreasethe fraction of a revolution of the valve that acts to admit steam tothe port 29. If the engine should be stopped with the valve in aposition to close the inlet therethrough, the by-pass or secondarysteam-supply 34 may be used to start the engine and then closed to letthe supply come through the valve-chamber only. If for extra occasionsgreater power or speed is desired at the expense of a waste of steam,the by-pass 34 may be opened and used in addition to the regular supply,so as to feed the engine continuously without cutting ofl? to utilizethe expansive force of the steam.

By means of the hand-wheel and adjustingdisk the end packing can bequickly and effectively adjusted so as to pack the end of the pistontightly. The stud 13, on which the wings are hung, moves out and in withthe adjusting-disk; but the necessary adjustment is so small that thismovement of the said stud is not detrimental.

It is apparent that some changes from the specific construction hereindisclosed may be made, and therefore I do not wish to be understood aslimiting myself to the precise form of construction shown and described,but desire the liberty to make such changes in working my invention asmay fairly come within the spirit and scope of the same.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a rotary engine, the combination of acylinder having a cylindrical piston-chamber with alongitudinally-slotted piston mounted in the said chamber for hearing onone side of the said piston-chamber, a piston-wing mounted within thesaid slotted piston for hearing on the walls of the said piston-chamber,and a packing-strip in the wall of the said pistonchamber for bearing onthe said piston and wing, the said strip extending longitudinally ofthe-said piston-chamber at a slight angle to the length of the said wingagainst which it acts.

2. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having acylindrical piston-chamber, a piston mounted therein, a packing-disk atone end of the said piston-chamber, and an adjusting-disk having aneXteriorly-threaded hub mounted in the cylinder-head at that end at thesaid cylinder having the said packingisk.

3. In a rotary engine, the combination of the cylinder and piston with avalve-chamber and cylindrical valve having an orifice that opens at theperiphery of the said valve, a governorslide mounted to move parallel tothe axis of the said valve in the wall of the said valvechamber andforming a part of the curved wall of the said valve-chamber to which thesaid valve is fitted, and a governor operativcly connected with the saidslide for moving it in the longitudinal direction of the valve-axis tocover and uncover the peripheral orifice of the said valve.

4. In a rotary engine, the combination of the cylinder and piston with avalve-chamber and a cylindrical valve having an orifice that opens atthe periphery of the said valve and is wide at the middle portion andnarrower toward each end, a governor-slide having a similarly shaped anddisposed orifice, the said slide being arranged between the said valveand the piston-chamber to move in the longitudinal direction of thevalve-axis and in the line of the narrowed ends of the said orifices,and means for moving the said slide, whereby a movement of the saidgovernor-slide parallel to the axis of the valve acts to vary theeffective width of the valve-orifice in the transverse direction of thesaid axis.

WILLIAM W. WHEELER.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM D. REED, J OHN Q. THAYER.

